The ridiculous testimony of two-bit crook Whitaker to Congress today was a massive effort to draw out time and not say anything. Because anything he says may be used against him (and the orange guy who hired him) in a court of law.

The ridiculous testimony of two-bit crook Whitaker to Congress today was a massive effort to draw out time and not say anything. Because anything he says may be used against him (and the orange guy who hired him) in a court of law.

Not sure what you're complaining about. It's not like he sat there smirking and refusing to answer questions (Strzok) or answered "I don't recall/remember" to just about everything (Ken Starr recounted in his recent book how Hillary said some variant of "I don't recall/remember" 100 times in a 3-hour interview)

The standout exchanges seem to have been reminding Congressman Nadler that Nadler's allotted 5 minutes were up, and bemoaning that he was only getting 5 minutes for lunch when the committee announced a 5 minute recess

Construction on the primary fence, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to Otay Mountain, began in 1989. Made of 10-foot-tall Vietnam-era helicopter landing mats, this fence was welcome but proved ineffective. In 1994, Operation Gatekeeper brought more Border Patrol agents and new tactics to the border’s western-most five miles.
In 1996, the secondary fence of steel mesh was installed.
Apprehensions of illegal border crossers in the area steeply declined as crossing routes moved farther east.

if you think it's a crime that certain environmental rules (specifically, the need for an environmental review) don't apply to certain projects, take it up with the congress that passed those laws, not the administration which is complying with the law.

Illegal immigration across the southwest border is on pace for the worst year since 2007 — or the last time the country began a massive wall-building spree — according to new Homeland Security numbers.
Four months into the fiscal year the Border Patrol nabbed nearly 201,500 people, compared to about 109,500 at the same point in the previous year. If that 84 percent surge holds, it works out to 733,000 immigrants crossing illegally for fiscal year 2019, which would be by far the highest numbers in more than a decade.
And the new surge is comprised of migrant families and children, which are a much tougher population to combat, thanks to U.S. policies imposed by Congress and the courts that make it tougher to deport them.
“Family units and unaccompanied children from Central America are crossing the border illegally in greater numbers and in larger groups than ever before, straining our law enforcement resources,” said Brian Hastings, U.S. Border Patrol Chief of Operations. “These trends are very concerning and demonstrate the reality of the ongoing humanitarian and border security crisis.”
(snip)
The porous nature of American policy means those who are arrested are more likely to get a foothold in the U.S., despite their unlawful status.
Of the families and unaccompanied children nabbed in 2017, more than 98 percent of them were still in the U.S. as of late last year. Court rulings make it almost impossible to detain them, and once they’re released into communities they are difficult to roust, Homeland Security officials say.

the numbers given are the numbers who have been caught/turned themselves in. No one knows how many weren't caught

that article hits the nail on the head vis-a-vis the problem: catch-and-release. When migrants are caught crossing the border illegally, they're not deported.

if you think it's a crime that certain environmental rules (specifically, the need for an environmental review) don't apply to certain projects, take it up with the congress that passed those laws, not the administration which is complying with the law.

We've been saying that no further congressional authorization is needed to build the wall because it was already authorized by the Secure Fence Act of 2006. That is true, but the 9th Circuit reminded us that is was also already authorized by the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA). That passed 278–126 in the House and 72–27 in the Senate, and it was signed into law by President Clinton.

According to the 9th Circuit's ruling,
“Under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (IIRIRA), the Secretary of the DHS has long had the authority ‘to install additional physical barriers and roads … in the vicinity of the United States border.'”
In addition, the IIRIRA grants the secretary of the DHS “the authority to waive all legal requirements” as is “‘necessary to ensure expeditious construction’ of those barriers and roads.”